Parents are the reason their child’s school day is disrupted, a new study finds

According to a recent survey, kids’ after-school “freeze” hits around 3:36 p.m.

The survey of 2,000 parents of children aged 5-17 explored the highs and lows throughout the school week for both children and parents, and all the ways parents go the extra mile to make it all through the school season .

According to the results, children come home from school hungry (hungry and angry/bored at the same time) on average three days a week. The parents even admitted that they are hungry two days a week.

Commissioned by Cabot Creamery and conducted by Talker Research, the survey found that it only takes a few simple things to ruin a typical school day.

The main factors that put children and parents off include lack of sleep (54%), running late to school (39%), hunger (27%) and daytime crashes due to not eating enough high-quality food (22 %).

For the majority of respondents (61%), the whole day can feel “uncomfortable” if the family falls behind schedule while preparing for the day.

And there isn’t much wiggle room on school mornings as parents report having just 33 minutes, on average, between waking their children and running out the door to school.

So unsurprisingly, 40% of respondents said getting their children ready for school in the morning is the most stressful part of their day, and a third (29%) admitted that school mornings at home are chaotic.

And within those 33 minutes from wake-up time to past time, more than half of parents (52%) are packing their children’s school lunches.

“Nutrition plays a huge role in keeping your energy levels and mood calm,” said Sara Wing, a nutritionist at Cabot Creamery. “Having convenient, nutrient-dense, protein-rich foods like cheddar cheese, whole-grain crackers, and nuts can help fuel your family throughout the day.”

Looking at how parents plan to combat low moods, many will have pre-prepared meals waiting for their children when they arrive home from school (37%), will store extra snacks in their children’s backpacks of them, which they can eat all the time. day (33%) and make meals together at home after school (29%).

And when asked about tips and tricks for keeping their kids healthy and nourished on the go, parents said to stick to simple, planned meals and stock up on snacks and have children choose foods they like, that they will be excited about. to eat throughout the week.

Most children’s (53%) first order of business after school is to grab a snack, and must-have foods, according to parents, are fruit (64%), crackers (49%), granola bars (47%), yogurt (47). %) and cheese (46%).

Looking at snacks through a health lens, respondents’ definition of a healthy snack for their children included being easy to prepare (69%), high in protein (52%) and rich in vitamins and nutrients (51%), and most (77). %) agree that eating quick and healthy meals for their child makes the day go better.

Children’s autonomy is also important to parents when it comes to choosing snacks, as more than eight in 10 (85%) said it is important for their children to have options for snacks and meals they can prepare themselves .

For those who have quick and healthy meal/snack options for their children (85%), nine in 10 agree that fast food and meal options free up more time for quality time together.

And almost seven in 10 respondents (68%) said snack time after school is a special bonding time between them and their child.

“Eating a snack doesn’t have to be stressful,” Wing said. “Simple changes to your routine like packing a lunch the night before, preparing meals in advance, or buying healthy snacks for the kids—and yourself—can help free up time during the school week.”

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 American parents of school-aged children (ages 5 – 17); The survey was commissioned by Cabot Creamery and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between July 3 and 8, 2024.

We source from a non-probability framework and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels – where respondents choose to participate in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic – where respondents are online and given the opportunity to take a survey to receive a virtual incentive that is typically related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were dropped from the survey. While the survey is in the field, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve specified quotas as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small monetary value equivalent to money.

Cells are reported for analysis only if they have at least 80 respondents and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. The data are not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are set to achieve the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they fail quality control measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is faster than one-third of the average interview duration are disqualified as speeders
• Open-ended: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions and others, please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled in surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplication: The survey software has deduping based on digital fingerprints, which ensures that no one is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.